Scott Sports acquired a large portion of their neighbors, Bold Cycles, back in 2019, and it looks like that move has let them integrate some of the Bold designs into this latest 120mm Spark RC that’s guided by its 120mm fork, and the Spark 900 with 120mm of rear travel and 130mm up front. Most notably, the shock is now hidden inside the seat tube, just as it has been on all of the Bold frames.
Like a lot of modern XC frames, the Spark uses a single-pivot design with flexing seat stays to keep things as lightweight as possible. Scott says that the integrated shock not only looks cool but it allows them to create a massively rigid and power efficient rear end that includes larger pivot bearings for added stiffness and durability. They also say that the integration allows for a lower shock placement, and hence a lower center of gravity for the frame.
Of course the shock is also protected from the elements, potentially resulting in less maintenance. Our question is, how can there be enough airflow to adequately cool the air can on longer descents? Air shocks already have issues with overheating, which results in poor performance. Will this be exacerbated with the integrated shock placement?
Like all Scott bikes, there’s a Twin Lock cable system to open and close the climb switch, so you don’t have to crack the BB hatch open when it’s time to go uphill. That might make some XC racers cranky.
Like the Bold bikes, the Spark has sag indicators on the non-driveside pivot, which is nice since you can’t see or measure the shock shaft.
The 120mm Spark RC has a proper 67.2° head tube angle for the technical XCO courses that folks are riding today, with a broad span of reach measurements form 411 to 501mm across the four sizes. Chain stays are a constant 437.5mm across that size run. Many modern XC races are still won on the climbs, and the Spark RC’s seat tube angles that steepen between 75.9° to 76.9° across the sizes will give riders a powerful position to keep the front wheel planted and the watts flowing.
The RC 900 model, with its 120mm of frame travel led out by a 130mm fork, leans forward into a 65.8° head tube angle, followed by a traditional 75.5° seat tube angle that steepens to 76.7° across the size run. Reach numbers on this party-XC ride roll between 410 and 500mm, while the chain stays keep a constant 437.5mm length.
There are far too many versions and builds of this bike to list, with prices ranging from $3,999 to $12,999. Yes, unfortunately those commas are in the correct positions.
For more info, check out these new short-travel platforms on the Scott Sports website.
